1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to motorized power equipment and more specifically to a self engaging wing lawn mower.
2. Description of Related Art
Lawn mowing equipment may come in various sizes and may be intended for various applications. For example, in small residential applications, a push mower may be used wherein the push mower may have a gasoline powered engine that directly turns a mower blade. As the mower blade rotates quickly, the blade cuts grass to a predetermined height. The cut grass may then be directed to a grass outlet or may be continuously cut and grass mulch may be produced.
For larger applications, a riding mower may be more efficient. A riding lawn mower may also have a gasoline powered engine. In this instance, the engine may not only provide the energy to turn the mower blade or blades but may also be responsible for providing the power to propel the riding lawn mower. Typically, a riding lawn mower may have two or more mower blades which are installed under a mower deck with the mowing deck configured to allow some overlap of the cutting swath of the two blades. Similar to the push mower, as the lawn mower blades rotate, the mower blades cut grass to a predetermined height.
In lawn mowing applications requiring a larger swath of grass to be cut, mowers employing more than two blades may be used. In these instances, the lawn mower may be a lawn mower that is towed behind a tractor or other type of towing vehicle. The tow behind mower may have one or two blades in a main deck as well as side decks that are attached to the towed lawn mower. For even larger applications, multiple towed mowers may be used to increase the amount of grass cut.
In some prior art tow behind mowers, the side decks may not be disengaged easily and raised to reduce the size of the mower. This is advantageous when storing the mower. In some prior art mowers, the mowers are fixed into place and are not adjustable. In other mowers, the units may be detached but pieces of the mower may need to be removed prior to detaching or adjusting the mowers for storage. In other lawn mowers, the side decks must be manually disconnected from the drive system before they can be raised. Disconnecting the side mowers may be time consuming, difficult and dangerous.
The present invention overcomes some of the difficulties of the previous mowing systems by providing an integrated belt drive system that allows the side mower decks to be raised and the belt drive systems automatically disengaged from the drive system. In one embodiment of the present invention, the wing mowers may be raised and locked into place by simply removing a locking pin, raising the side deck and then reinserting the locking pin into a second position to lock the side deck into the raised position. In this position, the blades are disengaged and no other action may be required on the operator's part to continue using the main deck to cut grass.